76 Essential LMS & eLearning Statistics: 2021 Market Share & Data Analysis

A new version of this article, featuring the latest data and statistics, is available. Check out our report on LMS & eLearning Software Statistics for 2022.

In this fast-paced world where almost everything changes at lightning speed, today’s newest technology may become outdated after a few days or weeks. The same is true with what we learned in school, some of which could likely be irrelevant or totally obsolete by the time we started our first jobs. This breakneck speed of change is one of the reasons why the LMS system and eLearning platform market is among the busiest in the technology industry nowadays.

The LMS space itself is peppered with disruptive technologies–AI, VR, mobile, big data–hence, the need to keep pace with the trends. To help you out, we have prepared these learning management systems and eLearning statistics. They include market figures, software adoption and uses, effects on businesses and schools, and key industry trends, critical information that will provide you with valuable insights, whether you’re a vendor, administrator, instructor, or learner.

LMS & eLearning Software Market Statistics
LMS Software Adoption and Uses Statistics
LMS Impact on Business and Academe Statistics
LMS Technology Statistics

1. LMS & eLearning Software Market Statistics

The learning management system market size is expected to be among the biggest in the entire technology industry in the immediate future. With more than 700 LMS vendors in the market today, the digital learning landscape is likely to become more exciting and intense in terms of competition and upcoming technological breakthroughs.

The global LMS market was valued at $8.76 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow to $38.10 billion by 2027 with a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 19.7% during the forecast period (Fortune Business Insights, 2020).
The global elearning market is projected to be worth $325 billion in 2025 (eLearning Industry, 2019).
The LMS market in the Asia-Pacific region is expected to be the fastest-growing segment with a CAGR of 19.75% from 2019 to 2027 (Inkwood Research, 2019).
The corporate elearning market is anticipated to grow at a CAGR of about 8% from 2019 to 2025 (Docebo, 2020).
Large companies—those with high technology spending to provide employees with an accessible and standard training environment—comprise 30% of global LMS buyers (Docebo, 2016).
Primary participants in LMS platforms are C-Level executives at 65% and managers at 35% (Markets and Markets, 2020).
Mobile learning is projected to reach a market size of $80.1 billion by 2027 with a revised CAGR of 20%. Growth is accelerated by COVID-19 lockdown (Research and Markets, 2020).

Who Uses LMS Platforms?

Sources: Research Markets/Docebo

The major growth drivers behind the ongoing LMS market boom include the rising adoption of digital learning, numerous government initiatives for LMS growth, the expanding use of AI and machine learning (ML) in both academic and corporate learning setups, and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy and enterprise mobility. Likewise, open learning platforms like Moodle are also spearheading the popularity of online courses. Today, we have dozens of Moodle alternatives that let administrators deep-configure their LMS system via open API.

2. LMS Software Adoption and Uses Statistics

At the rate the gamut of learning management system research and development initiatives is driving new technological innovations, it’s probable that many companies will invest more of their learning and development (L&D) dollars into a learning management system, which not only delivers and tracks training but also provides effective results. The same goes for schools worldwide, where administrators are increasingly collaborating with their IT departments in choosing the best LMS for their institutions.

77% of US companies used elearning in 2017, 72% believe elearning puts them at a competitive advantage, and 67% of organizations offer mobile learning (eLearning Industry, 2019).
70% of L&D departments in North America use a learning management system (Mimeo, 2020).
83% of L&D pros said their executive supported employee learning, but only 27% said that their CEOs are active champions of learning (LinkedIn, 2020).
66% of L&D professionals reported that their roles within their organizations have grown substantially in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic (EBN, 2020).
59% of organizations adopt BYOD and 67% of employees use personal devices to access work (TechJury, 2021).
75% of employees prefer video-based learning over reading information (Designing Digitally, 2019).
90% of students prefer elearning to classroom learning (eLearning Industry, 2019).
30% of global LMS buyers are tech companies (eLearning Industry, 2019).
Due to the impact of COVID-19, 66% of L&D professionals expect their companies to spend more on virtual-instructor-led training and online learning (LinkedIn, 2020).
56% of online college students used a smartphone or tablet to complete at least some of their online course-related activities (Wiley Education Services, 2019).
81% of graduate students said they used or would have liked to use mobile devices for their online coursework (Wiley Education Services, 2019).
Taking advantage of LMS platform offerings, Google has enrolled 80,000 of its employees in Udacity’s HTML5 course (Extnsn Engine).
Nearly 70% of learning and development (L&D) teams state that they feel pressure to measure the impact of learning from leadership (Learning Technologies, 2019).
96% of respondents want to measure learning. However, only 50% are evaluating learning based on ROI, organizational impact, and job performance (Learning Technologies, 2019).
Among the L&D teams, only 14% feel that they measure digital learning impacts effectively, 53% consider their measurement of digital learning impact to be ineffective, and a surprising 33% admit they don’t measure their digital learning impact at all (Learning Technologies, 2019).
33% of learning professionals plan to focus on adaptive learning in the next year (Docebo, 2020).
7 out of 10 companies reported talent shortages in 2019 connected to the surge in demand for technical skills (ManpowerGroup, 2019).
42% of job applicants don’t meet skills requirements, but 82% of companies are willing to hire and train a candidate who lacks the required skills (Robert Half, 2019).
48% of companies do not believe that their organizational cultures are not conducive to social learning (Learning Technologies, 2019).
Only 23% of L&D teams believe that they have the skills to facilitate social learning (Learning Technologies, 2019).
82% of L&D managers said that reporting analytics is one of the most important features of LMS (Learning Technologies, 2019).
Employees pick up 70% of skills through their jobs, 20% through peers and colleagues, and 10% through formal training sessions (Docebo, 2020).
66% of L&D professionals said that learning and development is becoming a more strategic part of their organization (Emerald Works, 2020).
30% of L&D professionals plan to incorporate games and simulations in their elearning program for 2020 (eLearning Industry, 2019).
91% of organizations already prioritize virtual classrooms/webinar delivery skills before Covid-19 (Emerald Works, 2020).
68% of people prefer to learn within the workplace (eLearning Industry, 2019).
74% of employees access resources from their smartphones to do their job (Docebo, 2020).
57% of employees prefer accessing learning modules on the go (Docebo, 2020).

Learning Challenges (Docebo, 2020)

87% of millennials in the workforce feel that their learning experience is boring and not relevant
40% of millennials would prefer to learn how to better present and unlock creative thinking
40% of employees search Google before asking a co-worker or using the company’s learning technology. This means the platform is not yet efficient in meeting learner’s needs.

While LMS is a popular tool for training the workforce, many companies still cannot meet their desired results.

80% of HR and managers cannot overcome internal skills gap
69% report low or declining productivity
67% report failure to meet financial and performance objectives

The bulk of the learning management system data we’ve analyzed indicate that the adoption and usage of LMS and eLearning technologies are likely to accelerate further. Looking back, it is almost 30 years since the very first LMS was used by the UK’s Open University in 1990. From web learning and on-demand learning, LMS technology had undergone numerous changes and advancements to reach today’s generation of digital learning tools that support learning anytime, anywhere.

3. LMS Impact on Business and Academe Statistics

The benefits of digital learning technology are compelling and extensive. It provides organizations the convenience of organizing eLearning content in a single place and gives learners unlimited access to LMS materials. It removes the cumbersome tasks of manual tracking of learner performance and progress, including the usual high cost of L&D. With new innovations emerging regularly, the rich features of LMS platforms are likely to expand further.

57% of L&D professionals expect to spend more on online learning (LinkedIn, 2020).
Learning innovation delivers over a 9% improvement in organizational growth, transformation, profit, and productivity (Emerald Works, 2019).
77% of online students who have studied in a face-to-face class, feel their online experience is the same or better than their classroom experience (Wiley Education Services, 2020).
In 2019, more and more organizations are expected to embrace personalized training strategies (Forbes, 2018).
Companies that provide professional training and use LMS can increase employee retention by up to 92% (Matrix Blog, 2017).
58% of employees prefer self-paced training (eLearning Industry, 2019).
41.7% of companies save huge training costs by implementing LMS (Cryptex, 2019).
In 2018, while 93% of L&D professionals prefer to use LMS to boost employee engagement, only 27% were able to do so successfully (Learning Technologies, 2019).
Compared to instructor-led training, elearning uses 40%-60% less employee time, which allows organizations to cut the time staff members are away from their jobs, including removing the need for travel (Dashe & Thomson).
Employees who use LMS can increase training efficiency by up to 93% (Matrix Blog, 2017).
In a survey on how modern workers learn, 91% say that collaboration is the most useful to help them learn, and 70% get their motivation from mentoring and coaching (Emerald Works, 2018).
Using LMS features such as gamification, learning scenarios, and simulation can increase employee engagement by up to 92% (Matrix Blog, 2017).
82% say that reporting analytics is an important platform feature in LMS programs to improve their digital approach to business learning, while 90% state that learner engagement is the most important feature (Learning Techn0logies, 2019).
24% of academic respondents state that improving customer experience and engagement is their primary concern (Ellucian, 2018).
67% of academic institutions are still in the planning or trailing phase when it comes to deploying analytics for different LMS processes (Ellucian, 2018).
Researchers and practitioners predict that the next step for LMS is to become a “next-generation digital learning environment” (NGDLE) that focuses on teaching and learning rather than administrative purposes. Also, these NGDLEs are digital ecosystems that meet unique institutional needs (Ellucian, 2018).
Spending on enterprise video in the education industry is predicted to grow from $1.5 billion in 2017 to $3.1 billion in 2022 (Ellucian, 2018).
In 2017, 53% of institutions used two to five lecture capture platforms across campuses. This complicates how video materials are being stored and shared (Ellucian, 2018).
Educational institutions are slowly moving to the cloud with overall spending of $1.4 billion in 2018 to a predicted $3.2 billion in 2022 (Ellucian, 2018).
68% of employees prefer to learn at work, 58% prefer to learn at their own pace, and 49% prefer to learn at the point of need (Docebo, 2019).
73% of adults consider themselves as lifelong learners, while 63% of working adults are professional learners (Docebo, 2019).
37% of organizations are looking to replace their LMS platforms; 43% of large organizations, 38% of mid-size organizations, and 26% of small organizations want to replace their LMS platforms (Docebo, 2019).
Skilled and motivated workers can make sales rollouts faster by 22%. They can also help reduce the time spent on searching for sales content by 35% (Docebo, 2019).
92% of executives identified soft skills training as the most essential skill set to develop through talent development programs. (Docebo, 2019).

Impact of LMS and Elearning on Corporate Training

Source: LinkedIn/eLearning Industry/Cryptex

The learning management system market share in large enterprises and SMBs is in continuous flux, as businesses, regardless of their size, are increasingly expanding their use of digital learning modalities. The same goes for educational institutions, whose expanding use of different types of LMS solutions is also paving the way for new levels of academic excellence.

4. LMS Technology Statistics

As the competitive space for technology-based learning continues to expand faster, staying on top of the latest LMS developments and trends have become more important than before. Likewise, the need for LMS vendors to continually reinvent themselves had never been more demanding today than it was before.

As videos will compose 80% of Internet traffic worldwide, video-based learning is increasing because it is engaging, easy to absorb, and can effectively hold the learner’s attention. Presentations with visuals and video are 9% easier to recall compared to text-only content when assessed right away. This goes up to 83% when tests are delayed (Intuition, 2019).
When it comes to L&D, employees report having used video to learn new information at their current workplace, while 70% said they preferred video over written documents (Training Industry, 2020).
Companies are choosing the “agile business” learning platform, which are LMS solutions that are configurable, customizable, and deployable in a matter of days, and have integrated content development tools that streamline the creation and delivery of targeted content to multiple learners groups (Talented Learning, 2019).
AI drives automated and personalized learning, including enabling L&D practitioners to focus more on learning program enhancements rather than engaging in repetitive tasks (Docebo, 2019).
AR/VR is considered by L&D professionals as the most practical and immersive approach to teaching learners how to perform actual tasks in a safe environment (eLearning Industry, 2019).
Advanced technologies like AI and machine learning help enhance the learning process by analyzing performance data, test responses, etc. to determine trends and create automated actions/insights for learners and stakeholders (eLearning Industry, 2019).
82% say that reporting analytics is an important platform feature in LMS programs to improve their digital approach to business learning (Learning Technologies, 2019).
Nearly 70% of organizations now offer mobile learning in some form (Docebo, 2020).
Many advocate a more modern learning platform that is not just designed for training management but is designed to cater to interactive learning practices with exponential evolution (Docebo, 2019).
L&D is now entering its third generation where it will be driven by AI and will see more personalization and automation (Docebo, 2019).
In 2021, 50% of enterprises will have a learning assistant for employees and even customers who need training (The Aragon Research, 2019).
By 2021, 30% of learning analytics will tie performance with the knowledge level of participants (The Aragon Research, 2019).

From big data learning management system and AR/VR to specialized market segments, cloud-hosted LMS, and new protocols, these are only some of the major current and future developments that will affect the training industry throughout 2019 and beyond.

Tips for getting the best LMS software

Having an LMS solution is only as good as having a strategy that nurtures a culture of self-directed learning in an organization, be it in business or the academe. A learning culture made efficient by LMS is critical to developing relevant, timely skills, which help learners to be more ready and empowered to take on new challenges.

Without a doubt, organizations that are able to provide learners with the correct LMS tools to facilitate efficient skills development as they perform their daily tasks are most likely to succeed in the current highly competitive market environment. To future-proof your choice of an LMS, ask yourself these:

Does the LMS have video support? As mentioned above, after taking over the Internet, videos are also conquering the LMS sphere. So in case you’re still not using this form of rich, highly-engaging media, it’s high time for you to do so to capitalize on the vast benefits that video learning materials bring.
Does it make room for the possibility of AR/VR integration? It is suggested that businesses, especially those in heavy industries or engaged in handling hazardous materials, in starting integrating AR/VR in their training sessions as these technologies do not only allow learners to train in hostile environments safely, they’re also notably immersive and economical.
Am I abreast of new technologies? Well, you are after reading this guide. This collection of essential industry statistics and trends reflects today’s learning systems landscape–extensive, deep, and highly complex. The more informed you are, the better your choice of the best LMS platform for your business or school.

Amidst a plethora of LMS solutions in the market at present, it is suggested that businesses searching for the best LMS for your business to conduct some research first before making a buying decision to ensure success.

Key Insights

The LMS and eLearning market is rapidly expanding, driven by technological advancements and the increasing demand for digital learning solutions.
The global LMS market is projected to grow significantly, with an expected value of $38.10 billion by 2027, at a CAGR of 19.7%.
Mobile learning is on the rise, with a projected market size of $80.1 billion by 2027, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Asia-Pacific region is the fastest-growing segment in the LMS market, with a CAGR of 19.75% from 2019 to 2027.
A substantial number of organizations (77% of US companies) utilize eLearning, and 72% believe it provides a competitive advantage.
Video-based learning is highly preferred by employees, with 75% favoring it over reading information.
The use of AI and machine learning in LMS platforms is enhancing personalized and automated learning experiences.
The adoption of BYOD policies is widespread, with 59% of organizations allowing employees to use personal devices for work-related learning.
Companies investing in LMS for professional training see significant benefits, including increased employee retention by up to 92% and reduced training costs.
The next generation of LMS platforms, known as NGDLE, focuses on teaching and learning rather than administrative purposes, catering to unique institutional needs.

FAQ

What is the current market size and growth projection for LMS and eLearning? The global LMS market was valued at $8.76 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow to $38.10 billion by 2027, with a CAGR of 19.7%. The global eLearning market is projected to be worth $325 billion by 2025.
Which region is experiencing the fastest growth in the LMS market? The Asia-Pacific region is expected to be the fastest-growing segment in the LMS market, with a CAGR of 19.75% from 2019 to 2027.
How has the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the LMS and eLearning market? The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated the growth of the LMS and eLearning market, particularly in mobile learning, which is projected to reach a market size of $80.1 billion by 2027.
What are the primary drivers behind the growth of the LMS market? The primary drivers include the rising adoption of digital learning, government initiatives for LMS growth, the expanding use of AI and machine learning in both academic and corporate settings, and the BYOD policy and enterprise mobility.
What are the benefits of using LMS platforms in corporate training? Benefits include increased employee retention by up to 92%, reduced training costs, and improved training efficiency by up to 93%. LMS platforms also help in organizing eLearning content, tracking learner performance, and providing unlimited access to training materials.
Why is video-based learning preferred over traditional text-based learning? Video-based learning is preferred because it is engaging, easy to absorb, and can effectively hold the learner’s attention. It is also reported that presentations with visuals and video are easier to recall compared to text-only content.
What role do AI and machine learning play in modern LMS platforms? AI and machine learning enhance the learning process by analyzing performance data, creating personalized learning paths, automating repetitive tasks, and providing insights for learners and stakeholders.
What is the significance of BYOD policies in the context of LMS? BYOD policies allow employees to use their personal devices for work-related learning, which increases accessibility and convenience. This approach is widely adopted, with 59% of organizations allowing BYOD and 67% of employees using personal devices for work.
What is the NGDLE and how does it differ from traditional LMS platforms? The NGDLE (Next-Generation Digital Learning Environment) focuses more on teaching and learning rather than administrative tasks. It is designed to meet unique institutional needs and support interactive learning practices with advanced technologies like AI and AR/VR.
How do LMS platforms contribute to academic excellence in educational institutions? LMS platforms in educational institutions help streamline the delivery of online courses, track student progress, and facilitate personalized learning experiences. They also support the integration of advanced technologies like AI and machine learning to enhance teaching and learning outcomes.

References:

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By Nestor Gilbert

Nestor Gilbert is a senior B2B and SaaS analyst and a core contributor at FinancesOnline for over 5 years. With his experience in software development and extensive knowledge of SaaS management, he writes mostly about emerging B2B technologies and their impact on the current business landscape. However, he also provides in-depth reviews on a wide range of software solutions to help businesses find suitable options for them. Through his work, he aims to help companies develop a more tech-forward approach to their operations and overcome their SaaS-related challenges.